Lod Residents Complain About PLO Flag Flying in Town Center

In the city of Lod, Israelis are subjected to the flying of the PLO flag in the center of the city, on a regular basis.

By David Lev

First Publish: 4/14/2013, 4:55 PM

PLO flag

Flash 90

In the city of Lod, Israelis are subjected to what many consider a nightmarish vision: The flying of the PLO flag in the center of the city, on a regular basis. Speaking to Arutz 7, residents said that they had had enough and were constantly complaining to the authorities – who seemed to be ignoring their complaints.

Aderet, a lifelong resident of Lod, told Arutz 7 that she was traveling in the center of town, near the city's Central Bus Station, adjacent to the town's Old City. She noticed a large crowd of people, which turned out to be a march by Arabs – carrying a PA flag. Aderet filmed and photographed the march.

After inquiries by Arutz 7, city officials and police said that they were aware of the incident, and that it was actually a regular event; every Friday, Arabs march holding a PLO flag in a central part of the city. Police said that the marches usually passed without incident, and Aderet confirmed that there were no anti-Israel or anti-Semitic calls or shouts from the marchers last Friday.

Lod is a mixed city, with a large Arab and Jewish population. According to many of the Jews Arutz 7 spoke to, living in Lod is an exercise in compromise; many are uncomfortable with aspects of the Arab “culture” that they are subject to, such as the pre-dawn calls to prayer, by the muezzins at the city's many mosques, and the occasional gunfire that is heard, apparently coming from Arab weddings and other family events. The flying of the PLO flag, however, is a relatively new phenomenon, they said, and many of the Jews in Lod were very uncomfortable with it.

Aderet said that it appeared that the flag-flying was a new attempt by radical elements in the city to incite provocations, perhaps in the hope of starting a riot between Arabs and Jews.